August 2, 2007 Tsunami: Tatar Strait, Russia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.2 earthquake began at Tatar Strait, Russia on August 2, 2007 at 02:37:42 UTC. The water rose as high as 3.2 meters. Its effects were recorded at 18 places in at least 2 countries. It killed 2 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
Where the waves reached
The source (white) and every runup with a place, colored by the water height recorded there. A ring is a runup NCEI marks doubtful.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
The tsunami
- Date
- August 2, 2007, 02:37:42 UTC
- Source
- Tatar Strait, Russia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.2, 5 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 3.2 m (10.5 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 18
- Warning
- Tsunami Information or Attention Bulletin issued by any agency
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 47.116° N, 141.798° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 2 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- 14 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- $347.7 million with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- 11 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses damaged
- 20 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
The earthquake generated a weak tsunami that was recorded on the southwestern coast of Sakhalin (~ 20 cm in Nevelsk and Kholmsk) and on the northern coast of Hokkaido Island, Japan; ~ 20 cm at Rumoi (arrival time at about 04:03 UTC) and ~ 30 cm at Wakkanai (arrival at 04:31 UTC). (reference #11252)
There is only one working Russian tide gauge in this region (Kholmsk). The peak-to-trough wave height is about 37 cm. (reference #7876)
The anomalous tsunamigenic earthquake, which occurred on August 2, 2007 at 02.37 GMT in the Tatar Strait, near the western coast of Sakhalin Island (Nevel'sk earthquake), is examined. Though the magnitude of the main shock was M=6.2, the tsunami waves generated by this earthquake were abnormally large, reaching heights of more than 3 meters at some points of the coast[...]Also unusual about this event was the distribution of maximum wave heights along the entire west coast of Sakhalin Island, from Chekhov to Korsakov, which were proceeded by recessions of coastal water. (reference #12394)
Every runup
Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.
| Where | Country | Km from source | Water height, m | Inland, m | Measured by | First wave, UTC | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kholmsk, Sakhalin I | Russia | 20 | 0.19 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Kholmsk, Sakhalin | Russia | 20 | 0.2 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Yablochny, Sakhalin | Russia | 20 | 1.5 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Pravda, Sakhalin | Russia | 24 | 1 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Zyryanskoie, Sakhalin | Russia | 29 | 1.3 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Kalinino, Sakhalin | Russia | 31 | 1.8 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Zavety Ilicha, Sakhalin | Russia | 37 | 3.2 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Yasnomorks, Sakhalin | Russia | 41 | 1.8 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Lovetskaya, Sakhalin | Russia | 46 | 2.1 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Nevelsk, Sakhalin | Russia | 50 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Nevelsk, Sakhalin | Russia | 51 | 1.2 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Lopatino, Sakhalin | Russia | 56 | 0.2 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Zareche, Sakhalin | Russia | 60 | 0.7 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Gornozavodsk, Sakhalin | Russia | 62 | 1.3 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Wakkanai | Japan | 190 | 0.18 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 2, 04:31 | ||
| Monbetsu | Japan | 330 | 0.14 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Rumoi | Japan | 351 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 2, 04:03 | ||
| Otaru | Japan | 438 | 0.15 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 2007The 2000sTsunamis of RussiaThe earthquakeThis day in weather historyAlerts in force
Sources
Tsunami events and runups from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 3155.